Minecraft Realms Looks To Target Families

BY

Mojang is looking to expand their Minecraft offerings with Minecraft Realms. Designed to open the game up to larger markets, this new online service is expected to have a subscription fee between $10 and $15 a month.

“Our costumers [for Realms] are parents who are tired of trying to act as server administrators on behalf of their kids,” said Mojang CEO Carl Manneh. “Minecraft Realms will be a simpler kind of service, aimed at families and kids. In the future we aim to offer certain profiles with mods that are certified to work without crashing, but this will still be a safe and easy way for kids and families to play Minecraft online.”

“In the end I think this will get Minecraft new players, since there is a viral aspect of Realms. Kids will probably invite friends who don’t have Minecraft yet to play with them,” added Manneh. “All we know is that there has been a great demand for this service. We have never tried to sell anything to our gamers except the game itself and a little merchandise, so it’ll be very interesting to see if the community will be prepared to pay for a service like this. But since we have about 10 million paying PC gamers and, soon, as many mobile gamers, there’s definitely potential. And yes, if we look ahead, I do think [Realms will] be the biggest source of income in the future, and to bring in more money in total than the game itself.”

Source: GamesIndustry International

GameStop On PS4 Streaming Games, Blocking Pre-Owned

BY

The pre-owned game issue is one that’s consistently brought up when it comes to the PS4, with some reports stating that it will be up to individual publishers whether they want to restrict access to pre-owned content. GameStop president Tony Bartel has a more vested interest than most in used games and implied in an interview it would be best if console manufacturers didn’t impede their sale.

“There has been a lot of speculation on this topic,” said Bartel. “Console manufacturers understand that recent surveys indicate 60+ percent of video game consumers would be less likely to purchase a new console that did not play pre-owned games. Also, used games generate more than $1 billion of trade credit annually, 70 percent of which is credited towards purchasing new games and new hardware. We are committed to supporting the gaming community with the widest offering of hardware and software in all formats as the industry evolves. Given that there are more than 100 million current generation systems in the U.S. alone, that market will remain alive for some time to come.”

There is also the suggestion that the Gaikai technology will be used to deliver legacy PlayStation content to the PS4 via streaming, and while GameStop has all but divested itself of PS1 and PS2 games, Bartel seemed skeptical of the move. “I think consumers will want to see and try this future technology before committing to purchase based solely on the streaming feature. Plus, the cost of this service is still unknown,” he said. “Even with digital options potentially available, our buy-sell-trade business will continue to offer a compelling value proposition for those entry-level consumers.”

Source: Forbes.com

Hideo Kojima Wants To Take Risks With Ground Zeroes

BY

Hideo Kojima has often been heady with the themes of his games, tackling issues like child soldiers, war economies and nuclear weapons. According to him, Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes will go even further than he’s gone before with taboo and mature themes to the point where he’s unsure it will be able to release.

“Video games as a medium haven’t matured very much at all in the last 25 years,” explained Kojima . “It’s always about killing aliens and zombies. Not that I don’t like those kinds of games . . . they are fun, but I think games have a long way to go before they can mature.

“Over the past 25 year I have tried to work with the Metal Gear series to introduce more mature themes, but really it hasn’t gotten there yet. Compared to movies and books it still has a long way to go,” he added. “That’s precisely what I want to try to tackle with Ground Zeroes. Honestly I’m going to be targeting a lot of taboos, a lot of mature themes that really are quite risky. I’m not even sure if I’m going to be able to release the game, and even if I did release the game then maybe it wouldn’t sell because it’s too much. As a creator I want to take that risk.”

“I’m approaching the project as a creator and prioritizing creativity over sales,” he concluded.

Source: VideoGamer.com

Video-On-Demand Use On Consoles Increased In 2012

BY

A Nielsen survey of 2,500 U.S. consumers says that console owners spent 22 percent of their time on the systems streaming video-on-demand services in 2012. This is up from 19 percent in 2011 and 13 percent in 2010.

The PS3 saw video-on-demand time increase from 15 percent to 24 percent over the past year, while time spent watching DVDs and Blu-rays was 18 percent, watching downloaded media was 4 percent, and miscellaneous uses like listening to music or surfing the web was at 8 percent. According to the study, this means PS3 owners spent the majority of their time on the system last year doing things besides playing games.

The Wii was the most popular choice for video-on-demand, and accounted for 32 percent of user’s time, while Xbox 360 owners spent just 13 percent of their time streaming video, probably hurt by the requirement of an Xbox Live subscription. Streaming on both Wii and Xbox 360 were down slightly from the year prior.

You Are What You ‘Like’

BY

Researchers at Cambridge University’s Psychometrics Centre have shown that it’s possible to uncover surprisingly accurate estimate of peoples’ personality traits such as race, age, IQ, sexuality, political views and even drug use from automated analysis of what they ‘Like’ on Facebook.

The study, administered in collaboration with Microsoft Research Cambridge, analyzed 58,000 US Facebook users. Volunteers gave access to their Facebook ‘Likes’ along with profile information they had entered Facebook’s myPersonality application. Results extracted from seemingly innocuous Facebook Likes were eerily accurate in determining a test subject’s traits.

The study proved 88 percent accurate for determining male sexuality, 95 percent accurate for distinguishing African-American from Caucasian, and 85 percent accurate differentiating Republican from Democrat. Christians and Muslims were correctly classified in 82 percent of cases.  For relationship status and substance abuse, results were correct between 65-73 percent of the time.

The researchers were also able to accurately identify difficult to define attributes such as intelligence, emotional stability, openness and extraversion. One striking conclusion from the study was that when it comes to recognizing openness, Facebook data alone is nearly as informative as using an individual’s actual personality test scores.

The study also had a set of amusing findings. If users ‘Like’ curly fries they often had high IQs. If male users were fans of the TV show “Glee,” they were probably gay. If users ‘Like’ pages titled “Never Apologize For What You Feel It’s Like Saying Sorry For Being Real” or “I’m The Type Of Girl Who Can Be So Hurt But Still Look At You & Smile,” the users parents had probably split up before they left home.

Studies like this show why social networks have become so valuable to advertisers. Major retailers such as Target have been mining their customers data on Facebook for years, looking for patterns that predict future buying behavior. Forbes highlighted the practice in an article amusingly titled, “Target knows you’re pregnant before your dad does.”

Additionally, police in several California cities are using data mining for what they label “predictive policing,” keeping tabs on what people share on social networks to identify potential criminal behavior.

As helpful and telling as these studies are, there still remains debate whether this information should be public. Michal Kosinski is Operations Director at the Psychometric Centre. He conducted the Cambridge University study with colleague David Stillwell and Microsoft Research Center’s Thore Graepel.

“I am a great fan and active user of new amazing technologies, including Facebook. I appreciate automated book recommendations, or Facebook selecting the most relevant stories for my newsfeed. However, I can imagine situations in which the same data and technology is used to predict political views or sexual orientation, posing threats to freedom or even life,” admitted Kosinski.

Does information like this worry you about social network use Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Source University of Cambridge

Old Spice – Meet The Wolfdog

BY

Mr. Wolfdog is the Old Spice Chief Director of Marketing now, with his credentials including being a wolfdog. Watch as he teaches about marketing, asks the Internet to apply to be his personal assistant and explains the importance of computers with something that looks like it was animated in Garry’s Mod.

 

Darkstalkers Resurrection – Launch Trailer

BY

Darkstalkers Resurrection is finally here, giving the Darkstalkers franchise the same treatment as Capcom arcade re-releases Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition and Marvel vs. Capcom Origins. There’s a strong cult following for this series and this video illustrates a large reason why – no other fighting game has quite the same atmosphere as Darkstalkers!

Game Marketing Awards 2013 Nominees Announced

BY

The Game Marketing Awards (GMA) announced finalists for the eighth annual program. The Outstanding Overall Marketing Campaign of the Year award is represented by Electronic Arts’ cover vote for Madden NFL 13, Microsoft’s Halo 4 campaign, Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II efforts and Ubisoft different campaigns for Assassin’s Creed 3, Just Dance 4, and Far Cry 3.

“We are very pleased that so many amazing companies have chosen to participate in the 2013 Game Marketing Awards, the longest-running and most respected awards event recognizing the extraordinary work of video game marketers,” said Mary Dolaher, CEO of IDG World Expo, owner of the Game Marketing Summit. “On behalf of GMS and its Board of industry-leading marketing executives, we look forward to honoring the best of the best on April 17.”

Ubisoft has the most nominations at 25, while Activision has 20, Microsoft has 16 and Electronic Arts has 11. GMA winners will be announced at a ceremony immediately following the 2013 Game Marketing Summit taking place on April 17 in San Francisco.

Here are the 2013 Finalists:

OUTSTANDING TV OR THEATRICAL AD

Halo 4 Scanned – Microsoft Xbox

Assassin’s Creed 3 “The Letter” TV – Ubisoft Entertainment

Call of Duty: Black Ops II “Surprise” Launch Trailer – 72andSunny

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Reveal – Activision/The Ant Farm

Mass Effect 3- Fight – Electronic Arts

Assassin’s Creed 3 In-Cinema :60 – Ubisoft/The Ant Farm

 

FUNNIEST VIDEO ASSET

EA SPORTS Madden 13 “Madden Forever” – Interview – Heat

Kinect Star Wars Girl Vader – Microsoft Xbox

Just Dance 4 – Ubisoft

Kinect Star Wars Duel – Microsoft Xbox

FAR CRY 3 MONKEY BUSINESS PACK – TRAILER PARK

South Park: The Stick of Truth – Trailer #2 – THQ and Hammer Creative

 

OUTSTANDING PROMOTIONAL TRAILER

Far Cry 3 Launch Trailer – g-NET

Hitman Sniper Challenge Full Blood Trailer – Square Enix

Just Dance 4 E3 Announcement Trailer – Buster

Assassin’s Creed 3 “Launch Trailer” – Ubisoft Entertainment and The Ant Farm

PlanetSide 2 “Death is No Excuse” – Sony Online Entertainment & Blur

ZombiU CGI Trailer – Ubisoft

 

BEST GAME FOOTAGE TRAILER

Borderlands 2 “Wimoweh” Trailer – g-NET, 2k & Gearbox

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Reveal – Activision/The Ant Farm

Far Cry 3 Story Trailer – Ubisoft/The Ant Farm

Tomb Raider “Survivor” VGA Trailer – Ignition Creative

Sleeping Dogs Launch Trailer – Square Enix

Borderlands 2: An Introduction Trailer – 2K Games

 

BEST LONG FORMAT FEATURING PROMOTIONAL CONTENT

Halo 4 Launch Trailer – Microsoft Xbox

Dishonored – “Tales from Dunwall” – Psyop / Rokkan / Evolution Music Partners / DeFacto Sound / Bethesda Softworks

Far Cry 3 Launch Trailer – g-NET

Xbox Fable: The Journey – XBox/The Ant Farm

Assassin’s Creed III: Inside Assassin’s Creed III – Ubisoft

The Final Hours of Tomb Raider Video Series – g-NET & Crystal Dynamics

 

BEST LIVE ACTION PROMOTIONAL CONTENT

Angry Birds – “Launch TV:60” – Activision/The Ant Farm

Just Dance 4 – “Justin Bieber Surprise” – Ubisoft/The Ant Farm

Mass Effect 3- Fight – Electronic Arts

Black Ops II Reveal “Documentary” – 72andSunny

Medal of Honor Warfighter “Global Warfighters” Documentary – g-NET

Sleeping Dogs Live Action Trailer – Square Enix

 

OUTSTANDING OVERALL MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote Campaign – EA SPORTS, ESPN and Fleishman-Hillard

Just Dance 4 – Ubisoft

Halo 4 – Microsoft Xbox

Call of Duty: Black Ops II – 72andSunny

Assassin’s Creed 3 Campaign – Ubisoft Entertainment

Far Cry 3 Campaign – Ubisoft Entertainment

 

OUTSTANDING OVERALL MARKETING CAMPAIGN – CORE GAMES

Far Cry 3 Campaign – Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed 3 Marketing Campaign – Ubisoft Entertainment

007 Legends – Buddha Jones

Mass Effect 3 – Take Earth Back – Electronic Arts

EA SPORTS Madden 13 “Madden Forever” – Heat

Halo 4 – Microsoft Xbox

 

OUTSTANDING OVERALL MARKETING CAMPAIGN – FAMILY GAMES

Nike + Kinect Training – Microsoft Xbox

Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two – Disney Interactive/The Ant Farm

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Marketing Campaign – WB Games

SCRABBLE – EA – ELECTRONIC ARTS

Dance Central 3 – Microsoft Xbox

Just Dance 4 – Ubisoft

 

STANDOUT PRINT ADVERTISEMENT

Sleeping Dogs Print Ads – Square Enix

Guild Wars 2 “Our Time Is Now” – Ayzenberg Group & ArenaNet

Darksiders II – THQ & PETROL

God of War: Ascension – Sony Computer Entertainment America & PETROL

Assassin’s Creed 3 “Into Battle” – Ubisoft Entertainment

Dishonored – Print Ads – Rokkan / Meduzarts / Bethesda Softworks

 

STANDOUT OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 – Namco Bandai Games & PETROL

NBA 2K13 – OOH Campaign with Time Square “Triple Stack” Takeover – 2K Sports

Borderlands 2 Wallscapes – 2K Games

Assassin’s Creed 3 Outdoor Campaign – Ubisoft Entertainment

Halo 4 E3 OOH – Microsoft Xbox

Dishonored – Outdoor Ads – Fearless Media / Rokkan / Meduzarts / Bethesda Softworks

 

STANDOUT OVERALL POP DISPLAY

Halo 4 Countdown Counter Unit – Origin LLC

Skylanders Giants Toys ‘R’ Us Feature Shop – Activision and Midnight Oil Creative

Dead Island: Riptide Best Buy Display – Square Enix / Deep Silver

Halo 4 GameStop End cap – Origin LLC

Sleeping Dogs Standee – Square Enix and Midnight Oil Creative

Halo 4 – In line Countdown Unit – Origin LLC

 

BEST LIMITED EDITION, SPECIAL EDITION OR COLLECTOR’S EDITION

Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Care Package – Activision & PETROL

Xbox 360 Kinect Star Wars Limited Edition Bundle – LucasArts

Diablo III Collector’s Edition – Blizzard Entertainment

Assassin’s Creed 3 Limited Edition – Ubisoft Entertainment

Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Hardened Edition – Activision & PETROL

Soul Calibur V – Off Base Productions

 

BEST SHOWING AT A TRADE EVENT

Dishonored – E3 2012 – PurePartner / Sparks / Bethesda Softworks

Activision Skylanders, Toy Fair 2012 – Ignited/Activision

PAX East 2012: Ubisoft Booth Activation – Ubisoft

Halo 4 intro experience at E3 briefing – Microsoft Xbox

Activision E3 2012 – Ignited/Activision/The Ant Farm

Injustice: Gods Among Us – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment & PETROL

 

BEST RETAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Assassin’s Creed 3 – Ubisoft and Midnight Oil Creative

Tomb Raider – Square Enix and Midnight Oil Creative

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Retail Marketing Campaign – Activision and Midnight Oil Creative

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale – Sony Computer Entertainment America & PETROL

Skylanders Giants – Activision and Midnight Oil Creative

Hitman: Absolution – Square Enix and Midnight Oil Creative

 

BEST TRADE COLLATERAL

Raiden’s Arm – Ignited/Konami

Family Guy Manager Mailer – Activision and Midnight Oil Creative

PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale Guide – Off Base Productions

Contre Jour Pop-Up Press Kit – Ayzenberg Group & Microsoft Xbox

Assassin’s Creed 3 Alex Ross Steelbook – Ubisoft Entertainment

Far Cry 3 Destination PlayStation Presentation Video – Ubisoft

 

BEST WEBSITE FOR A PRODUCT

Assassin’s Creed III: Portal – Ubisoft

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron – Soap Creative & Activision

Sleeping Dogs – Future US / More Yellow

Dishonored.com Brand Site – Rokkan / Bethesda Softworks

PlanetSide2.com – Sony Online Entertainment

The Amazing Spider-Man – Soap Creative & Activision

 

BEST DIGITAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

PlanetSide 2: “WTF Advertising Campaign” – Sony Online Entertainment & Ayzenberg Group

Dishonored – Online Advertising – Rokkan / Fearless Media / Bethesda Softworks

God of War: Ascension – Sony Computer Entertainment America & PETROL

Prototype 2 – Soap Creative & Activision

Guild Wars 2 “We Are the Brave ” – Ayzenberg Group & ArenaNet

Assassin’s Creed III: Online Banners – Ubisoft

 

BEST USE OF DIGITAL MEDIA OR USE OF DIGITAL SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

NBA 2K13 Cover Athlete Reveal App – 2K Sports

Black Ops II – SapientNitro

DigiMan Digital Publishing Platform – Off Base Production

Halo 4 – AKQA

Action Movie FX App – 72andSunny

Hip Hop Dance Experience NFL Program – Ubisoft

 

BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A PROMOTIONAL PIECE

Lindsey Stirling for Just Dance 4 – Ubisoft

Borderlands 2 “Wimoweh” Trailer – g-NET, 2k & Gearbox

ZombiU – Ubisoft

Amazing Spiderman – “GDC Trailer” – Activision/The Ant Farm

Dishonored – “Drunken Whaler” – COPILOT / Rokkan / Bethesda Softworks

Just Dance 4 – Gangnam Style Trailer – Ubisoft

 

BEST USE OF SOUND DESIGN

Dishonored – Tales from Dunwall – Defacto Sound & Bethesda Softworks

Call of Duty: China Reveal – Activision/The Ant Farm

Dishonored – “Tales from Dunwall” – Chapter 1 – Defacto Sound / Evolution Music Partners / Rokkan / Bethesda Softworks

Dead Space 3 “Turn it Off” Trailer – g-NET

Aliens Colonial Marines – Trailer 2 – Gearbox/The Ant Farm

Dishonored – Defacto Sound & Bethesda Softworks

 

BEST COPYWRITING FOR A VIDEO ASSET

Assassin’s Creed 3 In-Cinema :60 – Ubisoft/The Ant Farm

Far Cry 3 Story Trailer – Ubisoft/The Ant Farm

The Expendables 2 “Body Count” Trailer – g-NET

Assassin’s Creed 3 “The Letter” – Ubisoft Entertainment

Far Cry 3 Launch Trailer – g-NET

SimCity Disasters Trailer – Eyestorm Productions

 

BEST PRODUCT LOGO DESIGN

Star Wars 1313 – LucasArts and Hamagami/Carroll Inc.

Skylanders Giants – Activision and Hamagami/Carroll Inc.

WORLD OF MERCENARIES LOGO – THE ANT FARM

Injustice: Gods Among Us – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment & PETROL

Halo 4 – Microsoft Xbox

Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Activision & PETROL

 

BEST KEY ART

Assassin’s Creed 3 Limited Edition Box – Ubisoft Entertainment

Hitman Absolution 47 Initiative – Square Enix

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – Ignited/Konami

Sleeping Dogs Key Art – Square Enix

Call of Duty: Black Ops II – DLC #1 – Activision & PETROL

God of War: Ascension – Sony Computer Entertainment America & PETROL

 

BEST PROMOTIONAL PARTNERSHIP

Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote Campaign – EA SPORTS, ESPN and Fleishman-Hillard

Halo 4 Mountain Dew Partnership – Microsoft Xbox

Assassin’s Creed 3 “Rock The Vote” Video – Ubisoft Entertainment

Dishonored – SyFy/Face Off Integration – Fearless Media / Bethesda Softworks

Just Dance 4 – Cheetos Partnership – Ubisoft

EA SPORTS and ESPN – Partnership – Electronic Arts, ESPN

 

BEST PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT

Deadpool Announcement – Ignited/Activision

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Reveal – Activision/The Ant Farm

Assassin’s Creed III: Global Announce – Ubisoft

God of War: Ascension – Sony Computer Entertainment America & PETROL

Resident Evil 6 Announcement Strategy – Capcom and Tangible Media

 

MOST EFFECTIVE BUZZ GENERATING TACTIC

Assassin’s Creed III: YouTube Influencer Campaign – Ubisoft

Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote Campaign – EA SPORTS, ESPN and Fleishman-Hillard

Halo 4 – AKQA

Deadpool does Comic-Con – Ignited/Activision

Just Dance Your Way to Justin Bieber – Ubisoft

Halo 4 Glyph – Microsoft Xbox

 

THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

Hip Hop Dance Experience NFL Program – Ubisoft

Deadpool Announcement – Ignited/Activision

Just Dance 4 – “Justin Bieber Surprise” – Ubisoft/The Ant Farm

Halo 4 Glyph – Microsoft Xbox

EA Sports Bar at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas – EA Sports

Action Movie FX App – 72andSunny

 

Source: IDG Game Marketing Awards

Chrome Sync Sports Gaming

BY

Smartphones and tablets are great for all sorts of games, and lately we’ve been thinking about new ways to play. Chrome Super Sync Sports is a new Chrome Experiment that uses the unique features of mobile devices to create a new gaming experience on big and small screens. In this game up to four friends can compete in running, swimming and cycling on a shared computer screen, using their smartphones or tablets as game controllers.

To get started, you’ll need a computer and a smartphone or tablet that run a modern browser, like Chrome. Visit chrome.com/supersyncsports on your computer, pick a game and decide if you’re playing solo or with friends. Next, visit g.co/super in Chrome on your smartphone or tablet and type in the unique code shown on your computer screen. You’ve now “super sync’d your mobile device with your computer, and you’re ready to race!

Use the arrow pad on your smartphone or tablet to select one of 50 athletes and prepare yourself for the competition. The motions you make on your mobile touchscreen will move your athlete on your computer screen. To move your athlete forward and win the race, you need to make the correct gestures as quickly as possible. The better you are, the higher your chances of making it to the global leaderboard.